lackbook Dan Pearson’s
lackbook Dan Pearson’s pork head terrine with confit egg yolk, pickled radish, mustard leaves and aioli the innovator Top of the pop-ups New Zealand arrived late onto the pop-up restaurant scene, but thanks to the pioneering work of 32-year-old British-born chef Dan Pearson, Auckland now has a highend mobile dining concept worthy of acclaim “Our most popular setup so far was in an old burger van called the WhITe Lady” Pearson in front of Egg and Spoon’s first venue, Auckland’s Honeytrap café I’m a council estate boy who likes pretty food,” says Pearson, whose current project Egg and Spoon comes after a range of culinary experiences, from crafting innovative burgers in Northampton to working long hours at Foliage restaurant at London’s Mandarin Oriental. “Our most popular setup so far was in an old burger van called the White Lady,” says the chef. “From this tiny van we cooked up a three-course fine-dining menu with things like a homemade brioche, pressed braised lamb shoulder, red onion marmalade and a jus gras burger.” Pearson’s team also set up in coffee lounges and music venues, among other locales – a unique experience for Aucklanders. “The restaurant scene here is a lot slower than in the States, the UK or Australia,” says Pearson. “There are still some restaurant goers who are a bit stuck in their ways and want the oldfashioned formal service. But the market is growing for ideas like Egg and Spoon, where we’ll appear for just one or two evenings, do something original and high end in a new space, and keep it relaxed to the point where the kitchen staff and I will come out and have a beer with the diners at the end of the evening.” eggandspoonrestaurant.com by rob crossan courtesy Dan Pearson 50 departures-international.com Contact platinum card service for bookings
STYLEETC. THE ART OF APPROPRIATE ACQUISITION perfect timing THE THIN MAN The latest men’s dress watch offerings are sleeker, simpler and a whole lot slimmer By Shannon Adducci PIAGET The brand’s newest world record, this time for thinnest automatic movement, at three millimetres, in the Altiplano Date, piaget.com © piaget If there was one timepiece synonymous with the last decade, it was the chunky tourbillon, whirring and spinning ostentatiously while suspended high above the wrist. But lately the bulky, macho watch has competition, as the thin dress watch has emerged as an unlikely candidate of cool, no longer just a suit-and-tie accessory. Leading the pack is Piaget, the original arbiter of slim, with its Altiplano, which was created in 1957 and currently holds the world record for thinnest automatic mechanical watch, at 5.25 millimetres. At this year’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, Piaget added the Altiplano Date, which holds the world’s thin nest automatic movement with date (3mm, with a 6.36mm case). Other brands have also been sizing down: last year, Patek Philippe introduced a new Calatrava inspired by a lighter late- 1950s model, and Vacheron Constantin’s Ultra-Fine 1968 is more than a millimetre thinner than the original. departures-international.com 51
